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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Friday, July 17, 2015

love, betrayal, and redemption - The Color of our Sky by Amita Trasi

A sweeping, emotional journey of two childhood friends—one struggling to survive the human slave trade and the other on a mission to save her—two girls whose lives converge only to change one fateful night in 1993.

Description:

A sweeping, emotional journey of two childhood friends—one struggling to survive the human slave trade and the other on a mission to save her—two girls whose lives converge only to change one fateful night in 1993.

India, 1986: Mukta, a ten-year-old girl from the lower caste Yellamma cult of temple prostitutes has come of age to fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute. In an attempt to escape this legacy that binds her, Mukta is transported to a foster family in Bombay. There she discovers a friend in the high spirited eight-year-old Tara, the tomboyish daughter of the family, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past. Tara introduces Mukta to a different world—ice cream and sweets, poems and stories, and a friendship the likes of which she has never experienced before. In 1993, Mukta is kidnapped from Tara’s room.

Eleven years later, Tara who blames herself for what happened, embarks on an emotional journey to search for the kidnapped Mukta only to uncover long buried secrets in her own family.

Moving from a remote village in India to the bustling metropolis of Bombay, to Los Angeles and back again, amidst the brutal world of human trafficking, this is a heartbreaking and beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship—a story of love, betrayal, and redemption—which ultimately withstands the true test of time.

Why my first novel is about the Devdasi cult that exists in India despite the law

When I set out to write this novel, I only ever intended to write about the friendship between two girls—Tara of privileged upbringing like many girls in India’s cities and Mukta, a poor village girl who doesn’t really land the luck of the draw. Initially, I hadn’t imagined Mukta to be born into a family of temple prostitutes. But as I wrote, the characters took on a life of their own and led me to places that I honestly didn’t think I would ever research or write about.

THE COLOR OF OUR SKY brings to light an outdated tradition— that of the DEVDASIS. Centuries ago, this tradition began as a way for some women to practice their devotion towards the temple Goddess, Yellamma. A ceremony (similar to a wedding) was performed where these girls/women dedicated their lives in the service of the temple. They would dance in temples, earning the title ‘dancing girls’. Today, this tradition has devolved into prostitution with young girls being efficiently exploited by pimps in the human trafficking business. This is the story of one such girl—Mukta—who is sacrificed at the altar of the Devdasi tradition that still torment some villages in India (even though there is a law against it.)

My novel is an intersection of two voices—Tara and Mukta—two girls from two different castes who form an unlikely friendship which endures the worst. For me, the Tara who returns to India seeking redemption represents hope for a better tomorrow for girls like Mukta. Mukta is a representation of a life wrought in the ugliness of the world. In their friendship I find a light—a hope—that for every girl like Mukta, there will be a friend and savior like Tara.

Amita Trasi was born and raised in Mumbai, India. She has an MBA in Human Resource Management and has worked with various International corporations for seven years. She currently lives in Houston with her husband and two cats. The Color of Our Sky is her first novel.